Patriots Ride off into the Bye with Resounding Victory over Rival Broncos

Tom Brady stated in the postgame press conference that "[The New England Patriots] left a lot of points out there," despite scoring 43 in a tone-setting victory over the Denver Broncos. Despite Brady's quest for perfection, all three phases contributed to the 43-21 win.

The defense started things off with a three-and-out and made the first big play of the game early in the second quarter when Rob Ninkovich baited Peyton Manning into a rare interception. Ninkovich dropped into coverage and gained depth instead of carrying the first receiver through his zone. Manning didn't expect him to be there and threw it right into his awaiting arms.

Manning was still able to to put up some impressive statistics. He was 34-of-57 for 438 yards with two touchdowns. He had matching pair of interceptions. While he racked up some fantastic statistics, his inability to convert in key situations proved to be the difference between he and Brady.

It was a tale of two halves for Brady, although both were positive. The first half was co-authored by Julian Edelman, who ended the day with nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. Another score slipped through his fingers and was overturned upon review.

Edelman made up for his miscue with his franchise-record fourth career punt-return touchdown, scampering 84 yards before posting up by an oxygen tank.

Brady's second-half performance was underscored by some incredible heroics by his otherworldly tight end, Rob Gronkowski. If nine catches for 105 yards and a touchdown weren't enough, Brady described Gronkowski's sprawling one-handed grab early in the fourth quarter as one of the best catches he had ever seen.

As their Week 10 bye is at hand, the Patriots now have 13 days without a football game. Their time will not be wasted.

In addition to Chandler Jones—who missed the Denver game with a hip injury—the Patriots have a few nagging injuries that could use some time to heal. Dominique Easley and Gronkowski's knees could each use some time off, no matter how advanced they are in their recovery from ACL tears. Cameron Fleming and Nate Ebner can get their fingers right, and Brady can rest his shoulder.

The downtime will be especially useful for recent additions like Jonathan Casillas, Akeem Ayers and—to a lesser extent—Tim Wright. Casillas and Ayers have been pressed into duty due to injuries, but an additional week with the playbook certainly won't hurt. Wright has shown that he is a quick learner, but being able to digest everything thrown at him in the past three months will be nice.

The coaching staff has a tough job as well. They have to prepare not only for the Indianapolis Colts—their Week 11 opponent—but the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers loom on the schedule as well. Getting a head start on scouting will give the defense a fighting chance against that tough slate of quarterbacks.

Whether the Patriots will need to prepare for the Broncos again wasn't a question that Bill Belichick was fielding after the game. "Right now, there's a good chance we're going to see Indianapolis [in the next game]."

Stats and figures courtesy of NFL.com.